— Josh —
"You're not even a real fan," I quipped, my mouth stuffed with pizza. "Everyone knows 'Stressed Out.'"
"I'd have to be a fan at all to be a true one," Wren retorted calmly.
I couldn't help but laugh. I had decided to turn our pizza date (could I even call it a date?) into a park picnic, secretly hoping that it might turn out to be a date.
"Fine, maybe I won't invite you to any more band practices then," I teased.
"Fine," she replied with surprising seriousness.
My mouth fell open as I noticed how genuinely she seemed to take my remark.
"Wait, no, no, no! Please come to practice! I was just kidding," I pleaded.
"Okay," she grinned. God, I love her smile.
"So, you guys are, like, a big deal," she observed, more of a statement than a question. Her words were a bit muffled by the pizza in her mouth, but I didn't mind. I chuckled and subconsciously rubbed the back of my neck.
"Um, I don't know. I mean, I guess?" I tried not to sound arrogant, though it was difficult.
"Do you go on tour and stuff?" I noticed Wren avoiding eye contact as we spoke.
"Yeah, we tour quite a bit, actually," I replied, suddenly feeling like I might be coming across as arrogant. Wren nodded and continued to eat. Her response surprised me; it was as though she liked me less because of my music career.
The ride back home from our not-so-clearly defined date was mostly quiet. I didn't mind taking the wheel since Wren expressed that she disliked driving.
"What does Jenna do when Tyler is away?" Wren sat on a stool at my kitchen island, her chin resting on her fist.
"She spends time with her family, I guess," I replied, concerned by Wren's continued avoidance of eye contact. I took a seat across from her, mirroring her posture.
"What's bothering you?" I asked, trying to elicit some kind of reaction from her. Her dark eyes met mine, but they remained emotionless.
"I like you," she finally said.
It felt like an eternity before my brain could process how to respond. My heart pounded in my ears. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before words finally came out.
"I like you too." My smile was so wide that my eyes nearly disappeared. I felt like a child. Who gets this excited just to say 'I like you', not even 'I love you'?
I expected Wren to smile, even just a little. But her expression remained as blank as ever.
"No, Josh," she began with a sigh. "I mean, I really like you. And if you're going to be away a lot..." She trailed off, gazing at the countertop where our elbows rested.
My face fell instantly. "Wait, are you talking about dating?"
Wren rolled her eyes. "You're not even listening."
As she headed towards the door, I nearly tripped over my stool trying to catch her. I reached for her hand, but she pulled away.
"Why are you mad at me?" I blurted out. I hadn't noticed that I raised my voice until I saw Wren's brown eyes widen, her eyebrows furrowing.
"I'm not," she practically whispered, squeezing her eyes shut in frustration. I didn't know what else to do but pull her into a hug, resting my chin on her head. I could feel her shaky breath against my chest.
"I don't want to really like you and then have you leave. I don't want to have to re-learn everything about you every time you get back from months of being away. I don't want you to like me when you're here and then someone else when you're gone because she's available and I'm not."
"I... I didn't know you liked me that much," I admitted.
"Don't talk about it," Wren mumbled into my shirt, making me smile again.
"What if I promise that we can make it work?" I spoke into her hair, still holding her close. "We can call, text, FaceTime... Maybe we can even bring you and Jenna along for a few shows."
Wren nodded slowly, then looked up at me. And she was smiling. A real, toothy smile. She had never looked more beautiful.
"Wait," she turned serious again. "Does this mean we're dating?"
"Well, yeah."
"Can we get ice cream?"
"Yes." I laughed.
